This invention relates to a flour sifter assembly, and particularly to a flour sifter that is powered by an electric motor.
It is known that flour used for baking purposes can be ground to a finer consistency by passing the flour though a hand-powered sifter implement. Typically, the sifter implement includes a tube having a semi-spherical screen therein, and a rotary agitator located within the tube for exerting a grinding action on flour particles resting on the screen surface.
The agitator has four or more arcuate bars (or blades) that scrape along the screen surface so as to pulverize the flour particles and propel such particles through the screen openings.
Commonly, the rotary agitator is powered by an external crank that is hand-operated. The person holds the sifter tube in one hand while operating the hand crank with the other hand, such that the flour is pulverized as it gravitates downwardly through the tube.
One problem with-the conventional flour sifter is that the person is required to use both hands to operate the sifter. It is not possible to add new flour to the tube while the hand crank is being operated (since one hand is required to hold the tube while the other hand is operating the crank).
The present invention proposes a flour sifter wherein the agitator is powered by an electric motor. This is advantageous in that the person can pour new flour into the sifter tube while the agitator is in operation. In preferred practice of the invention, the flour sifter unit is supported in a stabilized position on a support stand while the agitator is running. The sifted flour is deposited directly into a receptacle placed below the sifter tube, without any misdirection of the flour into the area surrounding the receptacle. With conventional hand-held flour sifter units, there is a danger that the person! will inadvertantly move the sifter tube laterally so that some of the flour spills onto the counter surface, rather than gravitating into the receptacle placed on the counter surface.
A further advantage of the motor-powered sifter is that no human effort is required to rotate the agitator. The sifting operation is performed automatically, without need for any special manipulative skill on the part of the human operator.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.